The game of golf is one of the most challenging sports not only to learn but also to play. One aspect of the game that often proves to be the most critical is putting. Many rounds are won or lost on the final putt. Hence the phrase, hit for show, putt for dough. Putting is not only most challenging for amateurs but also for pros alike. Putting under pressure for some is putting a three foot putt to win their $2 bet or for others winning the US Open.
Regardless of what is at stake, pressure can cause a golfer's putting stroke to change or break down missing even the easiest putt. Pressure can cause the golfer to change the path and direction of the putter head by moving their arms differently than normal or their wrist and hands might get more active causing the putter face to be “open” or “closed” at contact with the ball. Either way, this results in a missed putt.
One of the newest innovations in helping with these “putting woes” has been the oversize grip. The oversize grip design has proved to take the wrist out of the putting stroke thus eliminating one significant aspect to missing the putt. The oversize grip helps keep the hands “quiet” overall in all putting situations such that the wrists cannot break or bend, thereby maintaining the alignment of the hands and the arms of the golfer and making an overall more consistent and smoother stroke for the golfer.
However, for many golfers, what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another, or does not work all the time for the same person. The same holds true for the oversize putter grip. The oversize grip works for many but not for all, and can also work on some occasions but not in others for the same person for a variety of reasons. Often times a person is in the golf shop, they pick up a putter with an oversize grip and putt a few balls in the putting area or while out on the course they try a friends putter with an oversize grip. They like the feel and decide to put an oversize grip on their putter. They purchase the oversize grip, have it installed on their putter and after a few rounds find they really don't like it. They've spent $25 for the grip and now have to spend another $20 to purchase a new grip as close to their original as possible.
In an alternative scenario, a person has a putter they really like, sometimes an older classic putter and they want to try the new oversize grip to see if it will help improve their game. They take their prized putter to the golf shop, have the original grip removed and replaced with a new oversize grip. Now out on the course they discovered they don't like the feel and actually putt worse. They come to the conclusion it is not for them. However, at that point the original club has been modified, and they wish they had not devalued their putter by destroying the original grip while also having to endure the expense of replacing the oversize grip with one similar to what they had. In some instances, that putter will never be the same to them.
Thus, it is desirable to develop a grip for a golf club that can enable a person to change the grip on the golf club without damaging the underlying or original grip, thereby maintaining the integrity of the original club.